The 10 Most Innovative Video Games of 2011

Some of this year's very best games—Uncharted 3,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,Battlefield 3—are artistic triumphs with new gameplay options. But it's hard to call them innovative: Their basic story lines and shooter mechanics are well-established. Yet 2011 was a milestone year in innovative games, thanks in large part to the diversity of new platforms: Devices like the Nintendo 3DS finally hit their stride, indie developers offered great downloadable games, and my top pick runs in a browser tab on your computer.

Pushmo

Pushmo

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

It's a little hard to admit how much I like Pushmo, the groundbreaking game for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Intelligent Systems and released just a week ago. First off, the cutesy cartoon graphics seem like they were designed for people half my height and a quarter my age, and the syrupy techno soundtrack featured on many Nintendo DS games is here, too.

Yet gameplay is incredibly addictive. You play as Mallo, a tiny tomato-shaped character who pulls, pushes, and jumps across squares on a small game board. It's something like QuBIT for pocket gamers. Few games fulfill on the 3D promise, but Pushmo does in spades. Mallo moves from side to side but, in an almost surreal way, can also move diagonally and front to back. This ties into the strategy; in later levels you have to plan your movements strategically and not box yourself into a 3D corner. That would not be possible unless you could see in the game in a 3D plane.

Disneyland Adventures for Kinect

Disneyland Adventures for Kinect

Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360

Walking around a digital Disneyland by waving your hands may sound absurd. But a truly groundbreaking game can have a sense of absurdity about it, because what's unfamiliar always feels rather strange at first. Disneyland Adventures for Kinect is like that because it's one of the first sandbox games I've ever played in which you can run around anywhere you want using your body as the controller.

There's a deep sense of immersion, even for a kid's game, because you feel as though your avatar really is at Disneyland. Starting just outside the main gate, you walk by raising your hand at the elbow, and can stop and look around anytime you want. The entire Disneyland theme park is here: Space Mountain, the Sleeping Beauty castle, the Jungle Cruise, main street shops, other visitors, and many of the iconic characters from the movies. You can wander around and talk to these characters to get their autograph or a hug. Though Disneyland Adventures is for the younger set, it showcases what is most compelling about Kinect: the ability to put you into the shoes of game characters.

By the way, make sure you also check out Kinect Sports: Season Two. Microsoft nailed the darts game, which is one of the most realistic simulators of this rec-room game I've seen. In fact, it's more entertaining than the real thing—and less painful.